US Study Finds Difficulty In Finding Official Lab Test For Long Covid
A new study performed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has emphasized the difficulty of finding a solid lab test for long Covid. Long Covid is defined as a novel condition that involves dozens of long-lasting symptoms.
According to reports, long Covid’s most common symptoms include brain fog, heart palpitations, and fatigue. These symptoms can become more severe, or completely change, over time, and can become completely disabling and severe.
Since June 2024, one in 20 adults have reported experiencing ongoing and persistent symptoms after contracting Covid-19.
The study from NIH followed patients for four years and utilized a multitude of standard lab tests.
“Covid is just the latest example of an infectious disease that can cause a post-infectious fatigue syndrome,” Dr Paul G Auwaerter, a professor of medicine and director of the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study wanted to focus on finding a specific “biomarker” that specifically identifies long Covid. A “biomarker” would allow doctors to develop a diagnostic test to more accurately and easily identify long Covid in the body.
“Our challenge is to discover biomarkers that can help us quickly and accurately diagnose long Covid to ensure people struggling with this disease receive the most appropriate care as soon as possible,” said Dr David Goff, director for the division of cardiovascular sciences at the NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
“Long Covid symptoms can prevent someone from returning to work or school, and may even make everyday tasks a burden, so the ability for rapid diagnosis is key.”
The research was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The team looked at data from more than 10,000 adults in the US across 83 clinical sites between 2021 and 2023. Around 1,800 of the individuals were considered long Covid patients by the researchers.
Individuals in the study received 25 standard blood and urine tests either six months after their initial infection, or when they enrolled in the study. The patients were studied for four years, and a majority of the participants were middle-aged women, which has been common in other long Covid studies.
“Part of the challenge to finding or developing a long Covid lab test, was scientists still do not understand the mechanisms underlying chronic fatigue syndromes in general. Especially those, like Covid, that preferentially [affect] women in middle age. That makes finding a diagnostic test, “even greater as a challenge,” said Auwaerter.
Auwaerter called the task “herculean.”
“The hunt will go on, and probably move to tests that are currently used only for research, to see if they could shed some light or offer clinicians a diagnosis,” said Auwaerter.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
